There aren’t many communities in the nation where the need is greater.
Margaret Sullivan: ‘Books for Kids’ drive is changing lives
Can giving books to needy children change their lives for the better?
For the 15th straight year, a lot of people in the Buffalo area are ready, once again, to say that it can.
I’m happy to be among them. As a child, I loved books, libraries and reading, and that love helped lead me to my career. As a parent, I’ve tried to instill a love of reading in my children, and I know that has made them better students.
And as editor of The News, I’ve been proud to take part in our annual “Books for Kids” drive, whose goal is to help poor children by giving them books.
There aren’t many communities in the nation where the need is greater. Buffalo is the third poorest city in the United States. Nearly half of its children live below the poverty line.
Books—important as they are—are a luxury when a family is struggling to buy groceries or shoes.
So, starting in 1995, The News, along with a local organization called Project Flight, based at Buffalo State College, began collecting and then distributing books to needy kids. Since then, more than a million books have been given out. (In addition to The Buffalo News, the partners in this effort include Wegmans, the United Way, the public libraries, the Junior League and WGRZ-TV.)
A key element is that the books are not just on loan. They belong to the children who have, perhaps for the first time, their very own books.
The 2009 drive to collect and distribute 70,000 books begins this week. I am asking you, our readers, to play a role. Here’s what you can do:
• Drop by a Wegmans, a public library branch or a Barnes & Noble store with a new children’s book to donate.
• Write a check for any amount to “Books for Kids” and send it to The News promotions department.
• Run a book drive to benefit “Books for Kids” through your church, community center, book club or school, and bring the books or checks to one of the collection points.
Does it matter? Academic research certainly says it does—and the smiles on children’s faces back that up. The drive’s motto says it simply and well: “Give a book, change a life.”
•••
Howard Smith, who retired last week, came to The News 28 years ago as a hard-charging sports editor. Having worked at the Washington Star and the Associated Press in New York City, he brought big-city ambition to our sports section, which he ran for many years.
He built sports into a well-read, respected and award-winning destination for the region’s fans, bringing in writing talent from other papers, producing first-class special sections and setting a high bar for quality. In more recent years, he put an emphasis on local high school sports with the Scholastic Spotlight section, while continuing to fully cover the pro teams that obsess Western New York and its expatriates. (Smith, a Westchester County native, also gave a fair amount of ink to the Fighting Irish of his alma mater, Notre Dame.)
Two years ago, I asked him to move out of the sports department and into the managing editor’s office. He did so willingly, summoning the same drive for the paper’s broader mission.
With his ever-present clipboard in hand and a boyish bounce in his step, Smith took on huge amounts of work, constantly pressing to improve the content of the paper and its Web site, and handling innumerable administrative details every day.
His remarkable energy level never flagged. On Tuesday, his last day on the job, he was still making a late change to Wednesday’s front page less than an hour before he walked out of the newsroom, followed by the sound of applause, the news staff’s tribute to a job well done.
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